How do you see Jesus? In high school, my now-wife astounded me with her insightful suggestion that the way we see Jesus may be a clue about the way He sees us. That is, if you picture Him preaching or teaching, maybe you are called to preach or teach. If you see Him loving the hurting, maybe you have the gift of mercy. If you see Him feeding the 5,000, maybe you have the gift of service or charity. I have always thought there might be truth in this.
Before Jesus came to earth as a baby, He revealed Himself to quite a few people. Usually, these seem like stories about angels, but they are not—when people worship angels in the Bible, the angels ALWAYS stop them. But when the “Commander of the Lord’s Army” arrives, He allows worship.
To Abraham, Jesus appeared as a traveler in Genesis 18. Abraham’s entire story was about leaving his home and traveling to another land.
To Jacob, Jesus appeared during the night as a man who wrestled with Jacob for hours before dislocating his hip and re-naming him “Israel,” because he had struggled with God and men and had prevailed.
To Balaam, Jesus appeared as an angel with a drawn sword, blocking Balaam’s way. (In this case, it was a warning and Balaam missed the point.)
To Joshua, Jesus appeared as a man standing with a drawn sword in His hand. He called himself the “Commander of the Lord’s Army,” and Joshua realized God was a warrior. This gave Joshua courage before attacking Jericho—Israel’s first major battle.
“When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’
‘Neither,’ he replied. ‘I have now come as Commander of the Lord’s Armies.’ Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship.” Joshua 5:13-14.
To Manoah, Jesus appeared and told her she would bear Samson, and she must never drink wine or fermented drink during her pregnancy because Samson would be dedicated to the Lord. (There are quite a few other examples of the “Pre-incarnate Christ.”)
So how do you see Jesus? Do you relate best to His words? His affection? His sacrifice? His courage? His depth and deep knowledge of scripture?
Just as He appeared to Abraham as a traveler—which is what Abraham was—and He appeared to Joshua as a commander going into battle—which is what Joshua was—the ways in which Jesus reveals Himself to us may help us understand our own calling. After all, He is our ultimate role model. The best we can hope for is to follow Him. What do you see Him doing? Do you picture Him teaching? Preaching? Playing with children? Healing the sick?
And which of the many names of God resonates with you most deeply? “Wonderful Counselor”? “Everlasting Father”? “Prince of Peace”? “The Ancient of Days”? The “One Who’s Standing Near”? What you see when you look to Christ might be some indication of who He designed you to be? Think about it.
Dear God, thank you for showing yourself to us through the scriptures. Help us to know you better, to study your word every day and to let it transform our lives and fill our imaginations. Thank you for the mysteries of the Bible, such as the appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ. What an amazing, rich book. Help us to love your word more every day. Show us what your plan is for our lives, and help us to obey you.
ΑΩ
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